The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1887-06-25
ARouno rHE NuRsERY.
Suggestions which Should No borne 4
Mind By Every Mother.

Suggestions which shouid No horne In
Mind by Every Mother.
II possible the nursery should be =
large room, and bright, sunny one,
evenly heated and we'll ventilated. with
pictures on the walls and flowers or
plants growing in the windows. Tho
painting and pppering of the walls
should be clean and fresh; and It should
be the children's own room, in the sense
of having cup-boards aisd closets and
room for their various toys and books;
and every child who belongs in 1t should
have his own separate right to some
part of the apartment.
When it Is only room for one, then
sometimes it can be bedroom like
wise, but when there are other little
ones to share the play-room. then 1t
becomes simply the nursery, where the
little ones play in stormy weather, and
work or study parts of pleasant days.
In arranging the nursery few mothers
sufficiently appreciate the value of
surroundings in educating the young
child. A good water color painting is
of far more value here than hung on
the parlor wall. 20, but the children
might break the glass in romping and
playing" some one exclaims. Very
true, they might, but not ordinarily any
more than break the glass of the win
dows. They could do that if they were
permitted to, almost any day. But no
such indulgence is given them. No
more should they be permitted to break
picture glass; while the picture before
their eyes is q constant means of educa-
zion; and if the idea is entertained that
almost any thing will do for the nursery
wall, from third-rate engraving to n
newspaper cutting or an advertising
card, it is. to my mind, false impress
sion. There is too much cheap clap-trap
in the way of printed pictures, which
finds its way into our homes, whether
we will or no, without making the nur-
sery convenient receptacle for it,
Better burn it, and get it out Of harms
way, although sometimes the little
child, through some trick of coloring
in the picture, or some idea of form in
the thing coveted, will cling tenaciously
to some cheap print or engraving, and
there is nothing will do but indulge it
in its possession. / think it was Sir
Walter Scott who believed in the
education of large houses, and with
equal reason l think believe in the
educating power of good pictures, if
any are indulgcd i'm, on the nursery
walls. Sometimes an innate Judgment
and taste will make child run beyond
its surroundings in matters of artistic
merit, but usually those things which
are constantly before the little one as
models are the things most admired,
and continue to be until higher and
better taste and Judgment is formed by
contact with the outer world. Notices
worked in worsted, paper flowers and
such articles of ornamentation are all
admired until their tawdriness is made
manifest, while child accustomed to
finer things from infancy has always
thorough enjoyment of the best in
life, and his ideals will be high in pro-
portion. Therefore, let no mother
flatter herself that any thing will do
for the nursery, and so use it as sort
of lumber-room for the cast-of furni-
ture, pictures, vases and the like, of
other parts of the house. Better leave
its walls plain and bare, its floor un-
carpctcd and its furniture of the SIM
plest kind, for the educating power of
severity is far more profitable than that
of meritricious ornament.
But the nursery should be kept clean,
wholesome and sweet, it's air pure. and
the little ones who live in it should be
taught to be as orderly in their
room and play as they are elsewhere
in the house. A child can play leap
frog with grace as well as dance well
if he is only taught to Go so; and there
is no good sense in permitting lawless-
ness in child simply because he is in
the nursery, and so can do no harm.
The greatest harm that can come from
reckless, careless ways, is that done to
the child's intellect, morals or man
ners, which are as easily contaminated
in the nursery as in the parlor. Chrs-
tidn at Work.